Marines in Invasion of Southern France

Description

The Marine detachment of one of the Navy's heavy cruisers, displays the Nazi flag which they captured when they went ashore on the island of Retonneaux in Marseille harbor during the invasion of southern France. The enemy did not fire a shot and Marine Captain Francis R. Schlesinger, commanding the landing party, accepted the enemy commander's surrender. Captain Schlesinger is fifth from the right, third row in this picture which was taken as the Marines later displayed their trophy for a photographer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania circa 1944. texag57

Recent comments

My father Bruce Butala is in this picture and others. He was one of the USMC detachment on the USS Augusta. As for Marines in ETO my dad mentioned many times about missions in Europe (France and Italy) that he said were never disclosed. I have a...

My father Bruce Butala is in this picture and others. He was one of the USMC detachment on the USS Augusta. As for Marines in ETO my dad mentioned many times about missions in Europe (France and Italy) that he said were never disclosed. I have a picture of him and some buddies and the written comment of one states "best wishes to one of the Normandy commandos". I have many other pictures of King George and President Truman aboard the Augusta prior to the Pottsdam conference. Any info on Marines in ETO would be greatly appreciated.

It was clearly the Army's intent to keep Marines out of ETO. Despite this, Marines did play a role. Not only were they present in Iceland and aboard Navy Capital Ships manning guns,etc..., Marines were also observers, advisors, and in the OSS and even ...

It was clearly the Army's intent to keep Marines out of ETO. Despite this, Marines did play a role. Not only were they present in Iceland and aboard Navy Capital Ships manning guns,etc..., Marines were also observers, advisors, and in the OSS and even actively helping the French resistance. On top of that, the Army's amphibious force was largely trained by Marines at Lejeune and Marine Amphibious planners helped plan the Normandy invasion among other actions (Dieppe, Anzio). Another interesting point is that Marines were among the first instructors and made up nearly 20% of the first class of Amphibious Scouts and Raiders at Ft. Pierce Florida (the direct forerunners to UDT/SEAL Teams). This new Scouts and Raiders unit was first employed in Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa in November 1942 and also saw significant action at Normandy. In conclusion, Marines won high honors in the European Theater, including the Navy Cross, Legion of Merit,and other high international awards. Clearly the few and the proud contributed to the War in Europe.

Mardets serve several purposes. They can be used as security forces while in harbor, to protect the ship from such things as boarders and terrorists. They can serve as armed landing parties should the need arise. During WWII most major surface...

Mardets serve several purposes. They can be used as security forces while in harbor, to protect the ship from such things as boarders and terrorists. They can serve as armed landing parties should the need arise. During WWII most major surface combatant ships in the US Navy had a secondary battery manned by a Marine gun crew, and they also serve as a security force/roving patrol to maintain order and discipline abord ship while at sea.

Evillittlekenny (Thu 30 Dec 2010 08:27:29 AM EST)

And I remember that I read once that 2 Marines were found in a German POW camp but there was no information on how they got there. Maybe captured on some of those missions Ardee and mikeg mentioned?

Evillittlekenny (Thu 30 Dec 2010 08:24:30 AM EST)

Big thank you to all of you, very detailed explanations. Very interesting to hear it from someone who was part of it. And a big sorry for my late reply.

Evillittlekenny- At the time I served with a MarDet(1980's), Marine Security Forces were organized as Marine Security Forces Afloat(Sea Duty) and Marine Security Forces Ashore(Barracks Detachments guarding major Naval installations). While a important...

Evillittlekenny- At the time I served with a MarDet(1980's), Marine Security Forces were organized as Marine Security Forces Afloat(Sea Duty) and Marine Security Forces Ashore(Barracks Detachments guarding major Naval installations). While a important part of the job was physical security, all guard members possessed a minimum of a secret security clearance and the main mission was Special Weapons Security(use your imagination) The Sea Duty Marines served On all Aircraft Carriers, all 4 Battleships, all Submarine Tenders and all Command vessels. In the late 1980's, Marine Security Forces were re-organized and the Marine Barracks elements were largely eliminated. I believe that the Sea Duty detachments were reorganized and retrained again at some point as well and their mission redefined.

Mike Geiger (Tue 14 Dec 2010 07:20:27 PM EST)

If you want to read about an interesting Marine, Google Colonel Peter Julien Ortiz. He was in the OSS during the war.

IIRC, the USMC also participated in a variety of Special Ops in the ETO, but don't ask me to back that up. I think Anzio was one of the places mentioned, as well as preliminaries for D-Day, but I have the impression these involved a literal handful of...

IIRC, the USMC also participated in a variety of Special Ops in the ETO, but don't ask me to back that up. I think Anzio was one of the places mentioned, as well as preliminaries for D-Day, but I have the impression these involved a literal handful of men only. You can find a couple of references to other (slightly larger) actions in Europe and Africa here: http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-Chron1935-1946/index.html -- e.g., 10-11 Nov, 1942, 6 June 1944.

Designated marine infantry contingents on warships go back to the Romans. In those days, marines were a major part of the offensive capacity of a warship; gangplanks (with grappling spikes) were dropped onto enemy ships, and the marines advanced across...

Designated marine infantry contingents on warships go back to the Romans. In those days, marines were a major part of the offensive capacity of a warship; gangplanks (with grappling spikes) were dropped onto enemy ships, and the marines advanced across the gangplanks to engage the enemy on their own decks. The role of marines on ship continued to be important as an offensive option into the 19th century; clearly, it has been more restricted (largely to ship security) in recent times. Best regards, JR.

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